UCLA Law's David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy nurtures and trains the next generation of public interest advocates and leaders.
The David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy marks a distinct break with the way in which law schools have traditionally trained lawyers for public interest careers. Recognizing the need for coordinated and sequenced training, and hoping to engage the most dedicated public interest-minded students, the Epstein Program offers a challenging approach to legal education that helps aspiring lawyers refine their own career goals while training them for work in the public interest.
The Epstein Program defines “public interest” broadly to include all interests underrepresented by the private market, including the interests of the poor, ethnic minorities, unpopular social causes, and public goods. The Epstein Program’s goal is to provide an innovative and intellectually ambitious curriculum that prepares graduates to engage in sophisticated representation of these traditionally underrepresented clients and interests while utilizing a range of problem-solving tools. Student research and advocacy training incorporates client representation, community outreach, field research, social science theory and methodology, policy analysis, and the best of traditional legal scholarship. The metropolitan Los Angeles area offers a rich environment for students and faculty to address complicated social problems while situating local case studies in the broader national and international context.
